The Preached Word: Recent Episodes
Mike Hughes
Jesus enters Jerusalem as King, Prophet, and Priest--the anointed Messiah and Lord. The inhabitants of the city asked "Who is this?" Many still ask that question today. How do you answer? Is He your Lord? He came and died for you and, risen to life again, lives and reigns. He purchased you with His own blood.
Jesus is the Hero of the world. He who is the Life came to do battle with death. At the tomb of Lazarus, we see the fight become--a fight which will be finished on the cross and in Jesus' victorious rising from the dead.
In the mercy of Christ Jesus, God works His proper work of grace, giving us faith and granting the forgiveness of sins. In response, we worship Him, offering our thanks and praise.
In our text for today, Jesus says two things must happen--are necessary. You must be born again. The Son of Man must be lifted up.
We are chips off the old block of our forefather Adam and have inherited sin and its effect: death. But in Christ Jesus we are reborn children of God--made righteous by His blood on the cross and made inheritors of eternal life.
We are children of God the Father--a reward that will never fade and cannot be taken from us. This is the motivation for our religious life. God is with us. God is for us.
"Mountaintop Experiences" are the high points in our spiritual journey--moments when we are keenly aware of God's presence and will for our lives. But there is something even more firm--the Word of God--which sustains us in the valleys of life and sheds light into the murky darkness, guiding us in hope.
Jesus teaches us the true meaning of the Law, revealing our need for a Savior, our need for the grace He shows us by His death and resurrection. Forgiven and joined to Him in baptism, we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we shine His light in the world.
We have our unity in Christ Jesus, crucified and risen from the dead, in whom we are baptized and have our life.
Jesus, our Savior, came to save you. He accomplished this through His suffering and death--a suffering first shown at His circumcision. In Holy Baptism, He has claimed you as a child of God, redeemed by His precious blood.
"How long, O Lord?" is a question of lament common in the psalms. Languishing in prison, John the Baptizer questions Jesus, echoing the psalmist's lament. We, too, come to Jesus with our questions and doubts, and He points us as He did John to Himself and His kingdom. Jesus is no stranger to suffering, and He bore our sins upon Himself on the cross. Risen from the dead, He reigns over our lives. While our circumstances may not cause us to recognize it by sight, by faith and by hope, we look to Jesus and His coming again when every tear will be wiped away by His own hand, and all pain and crying and death itself will be gone forever. Until then, we wait in hope.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again--unexpectedly, but certainly. Judgment Day is inevitable, but it is not inescapable. Jesus, the Righteous Judge, has taken the punishment for our sin upon Himself on the cross. Now, in faith, we look for the Day of His returning, which is for us the Day of Salvation!
Jesus said, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Jesus tells us that truth is knowable, and that His word is truth.
Jesus is truth. His Word is truth. Jesus is trustworthy. His Word is trustworthy. We can stake our lives on it--indeed, we must, for He is our only hope for salvation. We must not allow ourselves to be swayed by those who come preaching in God's name things that sound good to our itching ears; rather, we must hold firm to God's Word alone.
Jesus, our Brother, is risen from the dead, and by His Word opens our eyes to see our neighbors and their needs and serve them.
Jesus, our Brother, is risen from the dead, and by His Word opens our eyes to see our neighbors and their needs and serve them.
Jesus came to seek out and save the lost--and He invites those He finds to join Him in His search and rescue mission.
Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
The Lord speaks His Word to us and gifts us with forgiveness, faith, and healing--the unshakeable kingdom. He lifts us up from the things that weigh us down and lifts our eyes to see our neighbors, that we might bear their burdens and together look with hope for the coming of His kingdom in all its fullness.
For the sake of the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross for you and for me, receiving in His body the wrath due us. By His victory over death, we have hope for salvation!
What inheritance are you leaving for the next generation? What do you treasure? Jesus tells us what we treasure indicates the location of our heart--our home--and warns us to treasure not what can be seen and grasped. Instead, Jesus tells us the good news that God in His grace gifts us the very kingdom of God!
We mortals fool ourselves into thinking of the things we have--even our lives--as our own possessions to do with as we please without thought for God or our neighbor. In baptism, we have died to that way of thinking and learn true wisdom from Christ alive in us.
Jesus hosts us at His table and feeds us with His Word--placing within us the glorious hope of the mystery of Christ in us. He inspires our worship and feeds us for service in His Name.
Rather than asking, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus would have us ask "How can I be a neighbor today?"
"So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:9
"If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you." - James 1:5
Those who love Jesus will keep His commandments. They will love what Jesus loves, do what Jesus does, want what Jesus wants for them and for this world. By His grace, the Father sends the Spirit of Truth to remind us of Jesus' words and to give us faith that we might submit to His Word and confess, "Amen."
God prepares our neighbors for hearing the Word which He will bring to them through us. What kind of conversations are you having with your neighbors? How is God calling you to bear witness to Jesus in those relationships?
The Great Ordeal will come to an end. God will wipe every tear from our eyes. The Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the world. Praise the Lord!
Guest preacher and author of Joining Jesus on His Mission: How to Be an Everyday Missionary, Rev. Greg Finke, brings us God's Word.
"Doing Good" - Week four in a five-week series, "Simple Practices for Joining Jesus Everyday."
This is the first sermon in a five-week series, "Simple Practices for Joining Jesus Everyday."
Jesus pardons us, forgiving our sin, and then calls us to a new purpose--"catching" people.
Jesus is the Word made flesh--the embodiment of Truth. His words at times offend our sensibilities, go against our perceived sense of truth, contradict our assumptions and beliefs. When that happens, will we respond by shutting our ears to Him or by humbling ourselves to receive the Wisdom He brings?
The Law of the Lord reveals our sin and causes us to see our need for a Savior. The Gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims God is for us, the forgiveness of our sins, life and salvation. By faith, we hear both words applying to us, and in the joy of the Lord, we share this Word with our neighbors.
Jesus gives us the best--Himself--in this life and in the life to come. By faith, we trust in His goodness and, remembering His promises, confidently come to Him with our concerns, knowing that He will do what is best for us.
"You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." These words of the Father to Jesus, the Son, confirmed and proclaimed His identity as the Beloved Son. If we ever wonder how things are between us and God, we need only return to our Baptism, where God spoke a word of promise to us; claiming us as His own beloved children through Christ.
Today we ponder anew the awesome mystery of the incarnation--the Word of God made flesh--a child, that we might become children of God!
Mary bearing Jesus--the very presence of God in human flesh--like the ark of the covenant did in times of old. In Him, God shows mercy to Mary, to Israel, and to all humanity.
The Lord is coming! But who can stand when He appears? Those who know that they are forgiven in Christ Jesus.
Happy New Year! What are your resolutions for this new liturgical year? Caught by surprise? Jesus has some good ones for us--applicable in Advent and our whole lives long.
Wars, rumors of war, earthquakes, famines, pseudo-saviors...What is God trying to tell us? "Do not be alarmed; the end is yet to come." In times of uncertainty we live by faith in our Savior Jesus who is victorious over the grave and who has and will end all suffering.
Jesus wept at the tomb of His beloved friend, and He weeps over the cause of death and all sorrow--sin. At the cross, Jesus dealt with sin and death once for all. Risen from the dead, He never will die again. Our hope is that we who have been joined to Christ in a death like His will be raised to live with Him forever. Until that day, we weep with those who weep and encourage one another with the hope that is ours in Christ Jesus.
Jesus is Truth--in the flesh. As His disciples we build our lives on His Word, which holds us fast in the storms of life.
When Jesus comes to town, everything changes. He stops and asks you, "What do you want me to do for you?" As we follow Him, we can ask our neighbors what they would have Jesus do for them and then pray with them for our Lord's mercy.
The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve--and He calls His disciples to do the same.
How hard is it to enter the kingdom of God? Harder, perhaps, than you think. And yet--with God all things are possible!
God exchanges our song of longing, "Those were the days," for a new song of victory in Jesus: "This is the day!"
Who's the greatest? Who is deserving of our attention? Jesus upends our way of thinking, setting a small child in the midst of men arguing about such questions. He models in His living and His dying what it means to be great--to be servant of all. Risen from the dead, He serves us still, feeding us with His body and blood and sending us into service in His name.
The "Royal Law," the "Golden Rule," our way of life in faith: "Love your neighbor as yourself." What does that look like, day-to-day?
We look in the mirror to check our outward appearance. The Word of God acts as a mirror to the heart. What it reveals about the human heart is much worse than the equivalent of a "bad hair day." But Jesus gives us a new heart, a clean heart, through the forgiveness of sins.
"Choose this day whom you will serve" is the exhortation Joshua gives. Whom do you serve? Who receives the place of honor and worship in your life? And how do you know?
"My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Mary's song expresses a personal relationship with God. Her story had been interwoven into the great story of God's saving work--His redemption of all creation through Jesus, the Son of God. We, too, have been swept up into this great story. God has come to us, too. May our souls rejoice and our hearts sing to God our Savior.
Maturity is where Jesus wants us to be headed. What does that look like? It looks like Him.
Jesus invites us to rest in Him. He shows us compassion and teaches us His way, then sends us out to share the good news with our neighbors.
Are you a disciple or an admirer of Jesus? God calls you to be a disciple, to be transformed by the hearing of His Word, to follow Jesus in faith.
God sent Ezekiel to the people of Israel, a nation of rebels. What would Ezekiel say if he was sent to us in the USA? We, too, are a nation of rebels. What does God speak to us? Repent!
The LORD is good. It's a confession we make easily when the skies are clear. What about when the storm is raging? Though we may doubt or give into fear, Jesus reminds us that He is our peace. In Him, we have nothing to fear.
Our outer nature is wasting away, but out inner nature is being renewed as God feeds us with Word and Sacrament, helping us to see that our suffering is temporary but our life in Christ is eternal.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, our Helper, our Advocate, and Comforter. He is the author of order and peace.
Jesus is the Vine. We are the branches. God is the Gardener and plants us where we are, expecting good fruit as we abide in Jesus and He in us.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, pulls out of the ditch of sin and leads us to love our neighbors in truth and action.
Where are your sacred spaces? When a space has been desecrated--how do you regain the sense of the sacred? In our Gospel today, Jesus reveals His mission to reclaim sacred space--not merely the Temple made by human hands, but--by His death and resurrection--humanity itself and all of creation.
Jesus is on the move--as is His Church--to proclaim the good news, to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
At Jesus' Word, demons depart and Satan is subdued. Jesus came to deliver us from the hands of the evil one, to set us free. In Christ, we have nothing to fear.
In this second session of our five-week study of the Lord's Prayer, we look at the first petition, "Hallowed Be Thy Name." Questions to ponder: What makes God's name holy? How is God's name made holy in your life? In our church? What do people think of Christ, based on what they see of Him in my life and in our life together as as congregation?
Merry Christmas! Christ your Savior is born! O come, let us adore him--and then, let us tell what has been made known to us!
Like some kings in history who went incognito to see how the commoners felt about their reign, the Son of God went undercover when He took on flesh. He did this, not out of curiosity, but compassion; for He humbled Himself even to the point of death on a cross. St. Paul said that in Christ we have the supreme example for how we are to live. What would humbling ourselves look like? What difference might it make?
Jonah gets the opportunity to tell off his enemies--to preach fire and brimstone and the wrath of God. Who wouldn't jump at such an opportunity? Well...Jonah. He hightails it out of there bound for the far side of the world. Why? Jonah knows something about God--that the Lord is gracious and merciful--and mercy is the last thing Jonah wants for his enemies...
Forgiving those who have sinned against us is perhaps the hardest part of our walk of discipleship. How can we get to the place where we can make such a decision? By faith, we look to Christ crucified and the immeasurable mercy God has shown us in forgiving our sins. In the light of such mercy for my sin, my neighbor's sin against me doesn't seem so large.
When a brother or sister sins against us, we often choose a path of vengeance, or silent brooding, or passive aggressive posts on Facebook. Jesus shows us a different way--a way aimed at reconciliation. The good news is that He gives this healing reconciliation to us, and travels with us on the way.
The call to follow Jesus is hard. Do you have what it takes to be His disciple? You do--for you have Jesus Himself. Jesus asks the impossible of us, and then He works the impossible in us.
Who is Jesus? How do you answer that question--not only in word, but by how you live? Is He a great teacher? A prophet? A really nice guy? The Christ? What difference does it make?
Does God appear to be silent in the face of your suffering? Dare we believe that God is a God of mercy--even when our circumstances might tempt us to think otherwise? In our gospel today we hear of a woman's faith in Jesus' mercy, in the character of God; a faith which clung to God and trusted in Him to be merciful. Her faith was not in vain, and serves as an example to us. Our God is merciful and delights in being reminded of this!
The reign of God is like a merchant...Jesus is the Merchant who gave all that He had to make you His own. You are a treasure in the eyes of God--and so is your neighbor!